Resilient wheel.



W. TRABUE.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

APPLIOATION'HLED 110mm, 191s.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

WITNESSES 25 drawing,

45` illustrated the STT PATENT @FFME WILLIAM TRABUE, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR, v:BY DIRECT .AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 PNEUMATIC HUB-TIRIE--WI-IEEL CO.,` OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,

v.A CORPORATION.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedean. 119., 1915.

' Application led November 18, 1913. Serial N`o.' '301,724.`

To ZZZ whom it may concern.' 4

Be it known that I, WILLIAM TRABpn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Resilient Wheel, of which' the following is a specification. n The invention relates to improvements in resilient Wheels.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of resilient Wheels,

and to provide a simple, practical and ei cient resilient Wheel, designed for use on automobiles and other motor vehicles, and

l5 the.like, and, equipped With a cushioned inner hub and adapted to afford the resiliency of a pneumatic tire, and capable of eliminatingr punctures and similar tire troubles and reducing the cost of the upkeep of resilient Wheels.

With these and other objects in vevv; the invention consists in theuconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying and pointed ou-t in the claim hereto appended; it being* understood that varios changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, Within the scope of the claim, may be resorted' to Without departing from the spirit or 'sacril ficing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the draWing:-Figure 1 is a side elevation pa-rtly in section of a resilient Wheel,

constructed in accordancewith this invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the outer hub member. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the annular cushion. Fig. 5 isi-a detaill View ofthe inner hub member.

Like numerals of reference jdesignate corresponding' parts in all the .figures of the drawing'.

In the accompanying drawing` 4in which is preferred embodiment of the invention, the resilient Wheel comprises in its construction spokes 1, secured at their inner' ends to an outer annular hub member 2 and connected at their outer ends to a felly 3, which is equipped with a tire 4 conj st ructed of solid rubber or other suitable material. The spokes, the outer hub memy ber and .the felly 3 constitute the body portion of the Wheel and may be of any preferred construction. The felly 3 is proinner hub member 8.

vided in its outer periphery With/a circumferentlal recess 5 in Which the tire 4c is seated, but any other suitable means may be employed for retaining, the tire on the Wheel.

The outer annular hub member 2, which may be constructed of Wood or anysuitable material, has fiat side faces and is provided in its inner peripheral edge With an annular fsrroove 6 conforming to the configuration of and fitting` the outer portion of an annular pneumatic cushion 7, Which is interposed between the outer hub 2 and an The inner hub member 8, which is in the form of a spool, may also be constructed of Wood or any other suitable material, and it is provided in its outer periphery with an annular groove 9, conforming' to 'the configuration ofsand forming a seat for the inner portion of the annular cushion 7. The annular cushion consists of a pneumatic tube having a valve stem 10 equipped with an air inlet or in- HatingF valve l1 and extending radially of the Wheel from the outer periphery of the annular cushion through a radial opening- 12 in the outer hub member 2 and located between two of the spokes 1` By this construction, the valve is arranged out of the Way and is not liable to be broken or otherwisc injured through contact with any object. Also the radial opening 12 will enable the valve stem to readily pull out of the outer hub Without injury should the pneumatic cushionthrough any cause, such as lonfcf usage. collapse.

The annular cushion may be of any preferred construction, and the inner and outer hub members are spaced apart and have relative movement'radially of the Wheel to enable the pneumatic cushion to cushion the Wheel in all directions and absorb shocks and jars. Also relative movement of the inner and outer hub members circumferentially of the Wheel to avoid Wearing or'otherWise injuring the pneumatic cushion is prevented by a plurality of lugs 13, eXtending inwardly from the outer hub member 2 at the outer face thereof and projecting into inwardly tapered recesses 14 in the outer end face of the inner hub memben or spool 8v. The inwardly tapered recesses, which are of a Width greater than the lugs, pro vide a limited circumferential movement or play to pievent any locking of the inner and outer hub members 2 and 8, andthe said lugs are equipped with antifrictibn wheels 15, adapted to ride on the walls of the recesses and thereby render the relative radial movement of the hub members frictionless. rlhe lugs and the projecting anti- :Eriction wheels, which are located at the inner terminals of the lugs, are of a combined length greater than the depth of the recesses, so that in event of the collapse of the annular cushion, the lugs will operate to space the inner and outer hub members from each other a sucient distance torelieve the pneumatic cushion of the crushing and grinding action, which would neces-A sarily result if the relative radial movement of the inner and outer hub members were not limited and the collapsed cushion subj ected to the entire weight of the vehicle.

The' outer hub member 2 is guided between inner and outer side plates 16 and 17, p iiferably in the Jform of disks, the inner s1 e openmg 18 to permit the wheel to be arranged on an axle 19, and the outer side late having a removable cap 20, which 'fits over the axle nut 21. The inner and outer side plates are secured by a plurality lof transverse bolts 22 to the end faces ot the inner hub member or spool, which spaces the side plates apart suliiciently to kreceive the outer hub section 2. T he outer hub section 2 is provided at its inner and outer side faces with annular grooves 23 forming races for annular series of antifriction balls 24, interposed between the outer hub section 2 and the inner faces of the side plates and adapted to permit the outer hub section to move frictionlessly between the side plates in the cushioning action of the wheel. In order to" exclude dust and other accumulation from the antiifriction balls, annular gaskets 25 are also interposed betw'een the outer hub member and the side plates. The i annular gaskets, which are constructed of felt or other suitable material, are seated in annular grooves 26 in the outer hub section 2 and are located beyondl the antifriction balls and concentric therewith, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The transverse bolts 22 are provided at lates 16 being provided with a central' ideare? their outer ends with nuts 27, which are adapted to be removed to permit the outer plate to be detached for adording ready access to the interior of the wheel for repairing the pneumatic cushion or for any other purpose. In making a repair of this character, the wheel is first removed from the axle, the cap 20 being detachable to afford access to the axle nut. The cap l20 is thread-- ed and engages threads of an annular ange 28, surrounding the central opening in the outer side plate 17. After the wheel is removed it is placed in a horizontal posin tion, and the outer plate may then be detached without disturbing the antifriction balls. vThe inner hub 8 is' equipped with .the ordinary journal bearing 29 to receive the spindle of the axle 19, but the inner hub member may be mounted on the axle in any other manner, and the wheel is adapted for use either on the front axle of an automobile or other vehicle, or on the rear or driving-axle of the same and when used on the driving axle will be suitably ixed to the same. v y

What is claimed is z- A resilient wheel including an inner hub member provided with a plurality of radially arranged inwardly tapered recesses, an outer hub member having a central opening to receive the inner hub member and arranged in spaced relation withl the same,

an annular cushion interposed between the hub members, liigs projecting inwardly from the outer hub member and extending across the space between thel said hub meinbers and into the recesses of the inner hub member, antifriction devices carried by the lugs and arranged to ride on the walls of the said recesses, and side plates 'arranged at the4 side facesof the hub members and spanning the space between the sameand covering the said recesses..

ln testimony, that I claimk the foregoing 'as my own, l have hereto aiixed my signa ture in the'presence of two witnesses.

rYILLIAM TRABUE. Witnesses: 'i

JMEs l). BRowN, D. MOXLEY. 

